American Inventor returns to ABC on Wednesday, June 6 at 9 pm EST, moving from last season’s Thursday night time slot. Apparently the exact format of this season may still be up in the air; according to some sources, shooting has just begun on the semi-finals, although auditions finished a month ago.

The website still promises that one winner each week will receive fifty thousand dollars to develop their invention for the semi-finals, with the winner receiving a grand prize of a million dollars once again. The audience will be able to phone in votes for the final winner.

Only one of last year’s judges remains, American Inventor’s exectuvie producer Peter Jones. Season one judges Ed Evangelista, Mary Lou Quinlan and Doug Hall have all left, as has host Matt Gallant. Nick Smith replaces Gallant for season two, with George Foreman, Pat Croce and Sara Blakely joining Jones on the judging panel.

American Inventor co-creator Simon Cowell, of American Idol fame, remains as executive producer, but will not appear on the show.

To qualify for the show, inventions must be “a new and useful consumer product that can be produced, marketed and sold in high volume directly to consumers through retail outlets,” according to the application rules. Types of inventions that are not eligible include medical devices, firearms or explosives, programming software, “adult entertainment” products, inventions containing hazardous materials, and “any product that might impact national security.”

The inventors appearing on the second season of American Inventor have not yet been announced, as the show will presumably start with audition episodes as it did last year, not revealing the semi-finalists until several episodes into the season. The auditions took place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Houston, and Tampa over March and April.

-Mel, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: LA Times, FreemantleMedia
Photo credit: ABC